Erection date: /11/2019
Gertrude Bell, 1868 - 1926, traveller, archaeologist and diplomat, lived here.
English Heritage
Unveiled on (or before) 7 November 2019.
Site: Gertrude Bell (1 memorial)
SW1, Sloane Street, 95
From English Heritage: "The three storey Georgian house belonged to her stepmother Florence’s mother, Lady Olliffe, and served as her London base for over 40 years, from 1884 until her last visit to London in 1925. ... Bell was a constant and welcome guest at number 95 {Sloane Street} from 1884, when she first matriculated at Queen's College in London .... The house’s interior was then said to be 'all dusty red velvet and heavy furniture, with a lingering smell of tomcat'. She continued to stay there in the holidays during her time at Oxford University, and after she graduated in June 1888, the next few years were spent between her Yorkshire home and Sloane Street. Bell’s father Hugh and stepmother Florence took over 95 Sloane Street on the death of Florence’s mother in 1898, and Gertrude continued to use it as her London base until her last visit to England in 1925; this included an extended spell of residence in 1915 while she managed the Red Cross’s Wounded and Missing Enquiry Department’s office in Arlington Street. The house stayed in the family until Hugh’s death in 1931."
We thank our colleague, Alan Patient, for the photos.
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